


"I picked these for you"

by virvatulilla



Series: 100 ways to say I love you - my OCs [2]
Category: Original Work
Genre: F/F, Fantasy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-18
Updated: 2017-07-18
Packaged: 2018-12-03 22:10:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11541435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/virvatulilla/pseuds/virvatulilla
Summary: 100 ways to say I love you challenge 43. Sera/Asheden





	"I picked these for you"

“Why do we have to make such a big deal of a day trip?” Asheden asked as she watched Sera getting ready. She had woken up really early, but even so everyone else had been awake earlier than her.

Sera’s chambermaid Ines chuckled. “It’s not just any day trip,” she said, arranging Sera’s hair in a different way for the third time already. “Everyone is going to be there.”

Asheden frowned. “What do you mean by everyone?”

“It’s what is customary in Visla Yeaistin every year on this day,” said Obal, Sera’s another chambermaid, who was picking Sera an outfit. “It’s the day of Tius, didn’t you know that? When I was young, commoners were allowed on the palace premises, but after the king’s assassination that tradition was discontinued. Now the royal family goes with the commoners to the city’s biggest park.”

Asheden yawned. “Is the purpose to hear the commoners for once?” she asked. “Or are you just trying to make them feel jealous of the rich life you’re so ready to flaunt with?”

Obal gave Asheden a disapproving huff. “I don’t think you should listen to your protector, Sera-mis,” she said. “She–”

Obal’s sentence was cut off by Sera raising a hand. “I think I’ll do this from here,” she said. “Bring me a bucket of water before you leave for today – both of you. I’m sure Asheden knows what to do.”

The chambermaids shared a worried look, but did as they were told. Sera got up from the vanity table, stretching her arms. “You could have said that earlier,” she told Asheden as she lifted the bucket above her head and dumped it on herself, gasping. “ _Kirosanan kirosana_ , that was cold!”

“What are you doing?” Asheden asked, giving Sera a curious look. “Don’t you want to go to the day trip?”

Sera shook her head, motioning Asheden to come and undo her soaking wet corset. “I’m going to hear the commoners for once,” she said. “Aisleshan did that one year, which only made his relationship with Moras even more tense than it already was. I did it with him last year, but I didn’t think– I didn’t feel like I could do it again. You know, after he– after what happened to him.”

Asheden nodded. “You don’t have to,” she said, helping Sera out of the rest of her wet clothes. “Especially if it makes you feel bad.”

Sera shook her head, walking to the closet, buck naked, to put clothes on. “No, it’s just good if someone continues what he did,” she said. “I think he was right, and you’re right. Besides, I had more fun last year among the commoners than any year before that that I spent with my family.”

…

There was a lot of people in the park. Sera had insisted they walked there, after explaining the situation to her mother and refusing to step inside the steam wagon where she was supposed to go. Asheden didn’t mind. The sky was overcast, and it wasn’t too hot.

Sera had grabbed Asheden’s hand like it was the most natural thing to do, and said they had to hold on to each other, or they would get separated in the sea of people. Sera hadn’t told Asheden that it would make people think of them as a couple – which was probably a good cover of sorts. Had Asheden taken her sword with her and presented herself as Sera’s protector, everyone would have known she was royalty.

Sera looked more lively than usual when she was mingling with the people. She had put effort in not looking like royalty – her wavy hair was down, she didn’t wear any jewellery, and she had found a dress that didn’t look like it had costed a fortune. To Asheden, she looked more beautiful like this than usual.

Suddenly someone was calling Sera’s name. She immediately stood up and looked around, trying to see where the sound had come from. When Sera saw the girl in a yellow dress who was waving her arms, she dashed straight towards her, leaving Asheden to get there on her own.

Sera and the girl with the yellow dress hugged so tight Asheden was slightly worried they were trying to strangle each other instead, but then they noticed her coming towards them, and pulled apart. “Sera, who is this?” the girl asked with a huge smile. “Have you found yourself a–”

“Eteiste, this is Asheden,” Sera interrupted. “Asheden, meet Eteiste. We met a year ago on this same occasion, and became friends immediately.”

Eteiste greeted Asheden with a big smile, and then turned towards Sera. “You won’t believe what I just found,” she said exitedly. “You will love this!”

When Eteiste started pulling Sera away, she turned to shout over her shoulder for Asheden to stay exactly where she was. “We’ll come back to you!”

Asheden sighed, and walked a few steps so she could lean against a tree trunk. Sera looked so genuinely happy and excited that she wouldn’t even think of stopping her.

To be the day of Tius it was a beautiful day - Asheden didn’t remember the last time it hadn’t rained on that day. The clouds in the sky had been promising rain since morning, but not a single rain drop had fallen so far. The people around Asheden mingled among themselves without trying to talk to her or even giving her a second look. She wondered whether it was because they thought she looked too intimidating or they just didn’t care to talk to a stranger.

Observing the crowd Asheden started to notice most of the people sitting on blankets around the tree she was leaning on were nobility. She wasn’t sure exactly how she knew, maybe it was the way they held themselves while sitting, or the way they ate. But noticing that Asheden suddenly became more nervous. Commoners she could handle but nobility? She still didn’t know the limits of the power she had as Sera’s protector, but she didn’t care to find out. If a drunken noble man tried to harrass her and she wounded him in self-defense, would she not get thrown to prison or tortured as a punishment?

Suddenly someone stopped directly in front of her, and Asheden instinctively reached for her sword only to find nothing. Fortunately, it wasn’t needed. “I didn’t think I’d run into you,” said Soulieve, squatting down in front of Asheden. “Did you already lose my little sister?”

Soulieve had covered his easily recognizable white hair with a scarf, which was why it had taken Asheden a couple of seconds to recognize him. She shook her head. “Sera met a friend who wanted to show her something,” she explained. “It’s my duty to stay back when I’m told to do so. I don’t believe Sera is in danger here, so I don’t have a reason to follow them when I was told not to.”

Soulieve gave her a lopsided smile. “I guess so,” he said. “Aren’t you going to ask me why I’m here as well?”

“I didn’t think it would be a question you wanted me to ask,” Asheden said. “But the question did come to my mind. Do you mind sharing your reason with me, then?”

Soulieve chuckled. “I wouldn’t have come here without Sera saying she’d do it,” he said. “I knew Aisleshan was doing this, and he tried to make me come with him, but before this year I didn’t quite have the courage to. Now that Aisleshan is… can’t do this, I figured someone else should. I’m glad that I wasn’t the only one.”

“Did everyone else just do what they’ve always done? Parade in front of the masses just to show off.”

Soulieve smiled, shaking his head. “No, but since most of them decided to do it later, they can’t move as far away from the king without being recognized. Father is boiling with fury, but mother loves this. Besides Sera and me, Thara and Theso are somewhere walking around the park.”

Asheden let out a surprised sound. “I thought Sera was practically the only one of you who tolerated Aisleshan. He didn’t talk about his family to me at all, and Sera…”

“Yes, Sera does that a lot,” Soulieve said, stretching his arms and proceeding to stand up. “She’s a bit self-centered so it might as well be she didn’t realize Aisleshan was our big brother longer, and that she wasn’t the only person in his life.”

Asheden tilted her head. “That does sound very much like Sera.”

“Right?” Soulieve laughed. “I better be going. Sera doesn’t need to know yet that we’re following her lead.”

Soulieve disappeared quickly into the crowd. Asheden leaned her head on the tree trunk. _If they’re following Sera’s lead in coming here_ , she thought, _and Sera came here because what I said_ … Asheden shook her head, telling herself that it was no place for her to try and feel like she’d accomplished something. Nonetheless she couldn’t shake the feeling that she had.

Asheden stood up, trying to watch the crowd more closely. Were there more people she or Sera had influenced? She thought she might have seen a glimpse of Thara in the crowd, but she wasn’t sure. Rain so light it could barely be called rain had started to fall down, getting heavier by the minute, but the people seemed delighted. The reason escaped Asheden, because there hadn’t been many celebrations in Cox Aller. Didn’t people usually complain about rain? Why were they smiling now, faces turned up towards the sky, letting the rain seep into their clothes?

“Asheden!”

She turned her head to see Sera and her friend, Eteiste, rushing towards her with huge grins on their faces. Asheden stood up, catching Sera as she leaped the last few paces to her. Sera’s hair and dress were soaking wet, but she was laughing. “I picked these for you,” Sera said, bringing a flower bouquet to Asheden’s face. “I didn’t know your favourite flower– if I’d known I would have gotten you some, and this is just, you know, this is just to show my gratitude to you as my protector. Yeah. To you as my protector.”

“Thank you,” Asheden smiled as she accepted the bouquet. Sera was blushing a little, and regardless of what she’d said, Eteiste’s eye-rolling had been a strong clue to Asheden as to why Sera had really wanted to give her the flowers. “Is this a tradition? I saw others carrying bouquets as well.”

Eteiste’s face lighted up but Sera spoke up before she could. “It’s just a nice gesture,” she said, waving her hand dismissively. “Nothing grand. Some might propose their love through the flowers, but not me. You know, because you’re my protector.”

Asheden lifted a hand to push a strand of wet hair away from Sera’s forehead. “If that’s what you say, that’s how I will accept these,” she said.

Sera tried to cover her blush with burying her whole face into her hands, but Asheden could still see the blush from Sera’s ears.


End file.
